FREEPORT — More of the region's rural and suburban schools are performing below the state average while dealing with higher-than-ever numbers of low-income students and those with limited English skills.

The statistics in a Journal-Standard analysis of the latest school test scores tell a sobering story of poverty and education and the increasing challenges nonurban schools face in teaching today's students.

For the past four years, a handful of the 34 elementary and middle schools in Stephenson, Carroll and Jo Daviess counties fell below state averages on test scores. For the 2012-13 school year, that number rose to 12.

None of Freeport's nine public schools exceeded average state learning standards in 2012-13, according to the state Board of Education's school report cards.

Three Freeport schools that were above the state average for the 2011-12 school year — Empire Elementary, Carl Sandburg Middle and Jones Farrar Magnet — fell below the standard last year.

Only nine of 21 schools in Stephenson County and six of nine schools in Carroll County exceeded state average for reading and mathematics. Each of the 18 schools in Jo Daviess County exceeded the state average.

The schools with declining scores have much in common. Most have seen double-digit increases in low-income student populations since the Great Recession. Most also have higher numbers of students who are behind in English because they grew up speaking a different language or speak a different language at home.

Addressing these factors is a costly venture; public school systems have long received millions of dollars each year because of scale-tipping poverty.

But for many of the schools that fell below the state average this year, serving larger populations of low-income students is a relatively new challenge. And because they don't have the big enrollment numbers that Rockford and Chicago do, they typically don't get as much money to throw at the problem.

The correlation between poverty and educational attainment is well-documented, from the landmark Coleman Report of 1966 to new research from universities and education think tanks across the country.

Page 2 of 3 - Wealth matters more so than any other factor, including race. Racial achievement gaps in education are closing, but the achievement of high-income students versus low-income students is increasing.

Schools with a majority of poor and language-deficient students often have to work twice as hard for students to perform half as well as students from wealthier schools.

They battle against a multitude of social, cultural and financial obstacles that stand between their students and success, offering intervention services, tutoring and enrichment programs in an effort to get children in their schools on a level playing field.

New measurements

The declines are also linked to changes in the grading scale assigned to tests given to elementary students.

For 2012-13, the state raised performance standards in reading and math tests for third- through eighth-graders to "align with college- and career-ready expectations."

"We understand why they're doing it," said Aaron Mercier, regional school superintendent for Stephenson, Carroll and Jo Daviess counties. "It's just that this year, you're going to see more schools missing the mark because that bar rose higher."

School systems are recalibrating curriculum to meet the new career- and college-ready standards reflected in the Common Core State Standards. Illinois is one of 45 states to adopt Common Core, which encourage critical thinking, problem solving and creativity. Proponents say it better prepares students for the needs of today's workforce.

Changes driven by those standards will align with what's going on at Freeport High School, which adopted Common Core about five years ago.

The high school has started giving WorkKeys assessment tests. Juniors have taken a sample test, which provides employers a job-skills assessment system to help them "select, hire, train, develop and retain a high-performance workforce."

WorkKeys, a test developed by ACT, is typically given to freshmen. It helps students identify skill sets they'll need to acquire through high school courses for jobs and careers they're targeting.

Principal Beth Summers said the school has a College and Career Center that, through the first quarter, logged about 3,000 visits. There, students can talk to guidance counselors and research post-secondary schools and career tracks.

While the school still falls below average in performance on the state's school report card, Summers said, it is showing improvement in ACT scores. This year the average composite was 19.2, compared with 18.9 last year.

"The state average composite is 20.6 this year, so we know that we have to continue to work hard on standards alignment and raising expectations for our students," she said.

State trends match

The Journal-Standard analysis put a magnifying glass to state trends, as well.

According to demographic information released Thursday, Illinois is on a educational precipice.

The percentage of low-income students has increased steadily, from 37.9 percent in 2003 to 49.9 percent in 2013 — a 31 percent increase in 10 years.

Page 3 of 3 - This probably will be the last year that public schools in Illinois have fewer low-income students than not.

More low-income students means more students needing food assistance, more students without adequate school supplies or clothing, increased mobility and increased homelessness.

"We try to address that through funding," Fergus said. "Schools that qualify get a portion of their general state aid that's a poverty grant to help address students' needs. ... Of course, this comes at a time when we're seeing cuts to state funding in education."

The number of students with limited English proficiency, a label often put on students who are behind in their English skills because they speak a native language at home, has increased by nearly 50 percent, from 6.3 percent of all students in 2003 to 9.4 percent in 2013.

Despite the state's low-income and language proficiency numbers, scores on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test have risen the past 10 years, from 64 percent meeting or exceeding standards in 2003 to 82 percent in 2012.